The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is the dental school of the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, a public research university located in

Ann Arbor, Michigan Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encompasses all ...

. Established in 1875, the School of Dentistry engages in

oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid ** Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or or ...

and

craniofacial Craniofacial (''cranio-'' combining form meaning head or skull + ''-facial'' combining form referring to the facial structures grossly) is an adjective referring to the parts of the head enclosing the brain and the face. The term is typically used ...

health care Health care or healthcare is the improvement of health via the prevention, diagnosis, treatment, amelioration or cure of disease, illness, injury, and other physical and mental impairments in people. Health care is delivered by health pr ...

education, research, patient care and community service. It is currently the number one ranked dental school in the U.S. and fifth in the world according to two independent rankings. The

was the first

state university A state university system in the United States is a group of public universities supported by an individual state, territory or federal district. These systems constitute the majority of public-funded universities in the country. State univer ...

in the world and the second university in the United States to offer education in dentistry. (

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

was the first).History of the University of Michigan School of Dentistry
The University of Michigan was also the first to provide graduate-level dentistry education. Four of its faculty members have been elected president of the

American Dental Association The American Dental Association (ADA) is an American professional association established in 1859 which has more than 161,000 members. Based in the American Dental Association Building in the Near North Side of Chicago, the ADA is the world's ...

.School of Dentistry celebrates 125th anniversary and renovated facilities
University of Michigan. The Sindecuse Museum of Dentistry is housed within the School of Dentistry.

Academics

The student body consists of 693 students. The School has: * The

undergraduate Undergraduate education is education conducted after secondary education and before postgraduate education. It typically includes all postsecondary programs up to the level of a bachelor's degree. For example, in the United States, an entry-le ...

Bachelor of Science A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...

(B.S.) in Dental Hygiene program, which has 101 students; * The Doctor of Dental Surgery (D.D.S.) program, which has 441 students; and * 110

Master of Science A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast t ...

(M.S.) students and 20 Ph.D students. There are 125 full-time faculty and 300 part-time faculty. The average class size is 109 for the D.D.S. program and 30 for the B.S. dental hygiene program. Fields of study at the School of Dentistry include

dental hygiene Oral hygiene is the practice of keeping one's mouth clean and free of disease and other problems (e.g. bad breath) by regular brushing of the teeth (dental hygiene) and cleaning between the teeth. It is important that oral hygiene be carried ou ...

, oral health,

biomaterials A biomaterial is a substance that has been engineered to interact with biological systems for a medical purpose, either a therapeutic (treat, augment, repair, or replace a tissue function of the body) or a diagnostic one. As a science, biomateria ...

endodontics Endodontics (from the Greek roots ''endo-'' "inside" and ''odont-'' "tooth") is the dental specialty concerned with the study and treatment of the dental pulp. Overview Endodontics encompasses the study (practice) of the basic and clinic ...

, computerized dentistry, oral and maxillofacial surgery,

orthodontics Orthodontics is a dentistry specialty that addresses the diagnosis, prevention, management, and correction of mal-positioned teeth and jaws, and misaligned bite patterns. It may also address the modification of facial growth, known as dentofacial ...

, pediatric dentistry,

periodontics Periodontology or periodontics (from Ancient Greek , – 'around'; and , – 'tooth', genitive , ) is the specialty of dentistry that studies supporting structures of teeth, as well as diseases and conditions that affect them. The supportin ...

, prosthodontics, and restorative dentistry. Among the student organizations at the School of Dentistry are the Alpha Omega Fraternity, American Association of Women Dentists, the

American Student Dental Association The American Student Dental Association (ASDA) is a national student-run organization that is concerned with the rights, interests, and welfare of dental students. It has the aim of introducing students to lifelong involvement in organized dentist ...

, the Christian Medical/Dental Society, Dental LGBA,

Delta Sigma Delta Delta Sigma Delta (), founded on , is the oldest and largest of the international professional dental fraternities, pre-dating Xi Psi Phi (1889), Psi Omega (1892) and Alpha Omega (1907). History Its inception came when two dental students, L ...

, Hispanic Dental Association, Muslim Student Dental Association, Society of the American Indian Dentist, Student Council, Student National Dental Association, Student Research Group (SRG), Jonathan Taft Society, UM Asian Dental Student Organization, and Xi Psi Phi. The D.D.S. student body is 66 percent white, 24 percent

Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous peopl ...

, 4.5 percent black or African American, 4.5 percent Hispanic or Latino, and 0.9 percent Native American or

Alaskan Native Alaska Natives (also known as Alaskan Natives, Native Alaskans, Indigenous Alaskans, Aboriginal Alaskans or First Alaskans) are the indigenous peoples of Alaska and include Iñupiat, Yupik, Aleut, Eyak, Tlingit, Haida, Tsimshian, and a numb ...

. The School's dental hygiene and D.D.S. programs are both accredited by the American Dental Association.Search DDS/DMD Programs
American Dental Association. The University of Michigan School of Dentistry is one of two dental schools in Michigan; the other is the University of Detroit Mercy School of Dentistry. The average undergraduate GPA of the entering D.D.S. class at the School of Dentistry is 3.66, with a science GPA of 3.5.

History

The first dean of the School of Dentistry was Dr. Jonathan Taft, who was dean from the school's founding in 1875 until his retirement in 1903. Taft developed the four-year model of dental education, which later became standard in American dental schools. The School of Dentistry was established as the College of Dental Surgery by the University of Michigan Board of Regents, following an appropriation by the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of an upper chamber, the Senate, and a lower chamber, the House of Representatives. Article IV of the Michigan Constitution ...

of $3,000 for that purpose. The school's first class consisted of 20 students taught by three faculty members. The first women graduated from the school in 1880. In 1890, the school became the first dental school to provide graduate dental education. In 1910, Russell W. Bunting, later dean of the school, began his research into the causes and prevention of

dental caries Tooth decay, also known as cavities or caries, is the breakdown of teeth due to acids produced by bacteria. The cavities may be a number of different colors from yellow to black. Symptoms may include pain and difficulty with eating. Complicat ...

(cavities). In 1921, the school established its dental hygiene program and conferred its first Master of Science degree, and the following year, the school became the first to offer graduate-degree training in orthodontics. In 1927, the school adopted its current name. In 1938, the school and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation began to develop plans for a new, purpose-built dental school building. Construction of the Kellogg Building began the following year. In 1938, the School of Dentistry developed the first graduate program in dental

public health Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the det ...

in the United States under the leadership of Professor Kenneth A. Easlick. In 1945, the School worked with city officials in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the second most-populated city in the state after Detroit. Grand Rapids is th ...

to establish a

water fluoridation Water fluoridation is the controlled adjustment of fluoride to a public water supply solely to reduce tooth decay. Fluoridated water contains fluoride at a level that is effective for preventing cavities; this can occur naturally or by adding ...

program, one of the first in the United States. In 1957, plans for a new dental building attached to the Kellogg Building were released. Construction began in 1966 on the project; at the time, the building contract of $17.3 million was the largest in university history. The new building on North University Avenue was dedicated in 1971. In 1965, researchers from the School of Dentistry made their first trip to Egypt to study the orthodontics of ancient Egypt and

Nubia Nubia () ( Nobiin: Nobīn, ) is a region along the Nile river encompassing the area between the first cataract of the Nile (just south of Aswan in southern Egypt) and the confluence of the Blue and White Niles (in Khartoum in central Sud ...

. In 1976, researchers from the school discovered the 3,000-year-old

mummy A mummy is a dead human or an animal whose soft tissues and organs have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air, so that the recovered body does not decay fu ...

Tiye Tiye (c. 1398 BC – 1338 BC, also spelled Tye, Taia, Tiy and Tiyi) was the daughter of Yuya and Thuya. She became the Great Royal Wife of the Egyptian pharaoh Amenhotep III. She was the mother of Akhenaten and grandmother of Tutankhamun. ...

, a

Great Royal Wife Great Royal Wife, or alternatively, Chief King's Wife ( Ancient Egyptian: ''ḥmt nswt wrt'', cop, Ⲟⲩⲏⲣ Ⲟⲩⲣϣ), is the title that was used to refer to the principal wife of the pharaoh of Ancient Egypt, who served many official ...

to the Egyptian

pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: '' pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until th ...

Amenhotep III Amenhotep III ( egy, jmn-ḥtp(.w), ''Amānəḥūtpū'' , "Amun is Satisfied"; Hellenized as Amenophis III), also known as Amenhotep the Magnificent or Amenhotep the Great, was the ninth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty. According to different ...

; the mummy's identity was confirmed by tests at the School of Dentistry. In 1967, the school established the Dental Research Institute, one of five nationwide funded by the National Institute of Dental Research. In 1972, the school established its summer dental community outreach clinics in

Adrian Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the mai ...

and

Stockbridge, Michigan Stockbridge is a village in Ingham County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is located within Stockbridge Township about southeast from downtown Lansing. The population was 1,218 at the 2010 census. Geography According to the United States ...

; the program expanded to the Traverse City area in the following year. In 1998, renovations to the Kellogg Building began. On 1999, the school awarded its first two doctoral degrees in oral health sciences. In 2000, the school became the first in the nation to host the "Scientific Frontiers in Clinical Dentistry" program, with more than 1,500 dentists from across the country attending. The same year, the school announced five new community partnerships to provide oral health care services to the underserved across Michigan.

Deans

The following people have served as deans of the School of Dentistry:University of Michigan School of Dentistry
Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan. *1875-1903: Jonathan Taft *1903-1906: Cyrenus G. Darling (acting) *1907: Willoughby D. Miller *1907-1916: Nelville Hoff *1916-1934: Marcus L. Ward *1934-1935: Chalmers John Lyons *1935-1950: Russell W. Bunting *1950-1962: Paul H. Jeserich *1962-1981: William R. Mann *1981-1982: Robert E. Doerr (acting) *1982-1987: Richard L. Christiansen *1987-1989: William Kotowicz (acting) *1989-1995: J. Bernard Machen *1995-2002: William Kotowicz *2003-2013: Peter Polverini *2013–2022 Laurie K. McCauley *2022-present Jan Ching Chun Hu (acting)

Alumni

* Ida Gray, Class of 1890 * Joseph Jarabak, Class of 1930

Gallery

File:Dental Chair UMSOD.jpg File:University of Michigan School of Dentistry Lobby.jpg File:West.forum.dsruff.jpg, Students in the West Forum

Notes

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Dental schools in Michigan Educational institutions established in 1875 University of Michigan schools, colleges, and departments 1875 establishments in Michigan University of Michigan campus